


Race Against the Clock

by harmony88



Series: Forever With You [20]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action & Romance, Adventure, F/M, Smut, problem solving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:40:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28494747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmony88/pseuds/harmony88
Summary: COMPLETEWhen the Doctor and Rose visit a new planet, the Doctor winds up attached to a bomb. Rose has one hour to save him before it goes off, and stop a corrupt politician. Combo of action and sweet moments for our favorite duo with hopefully some feels and surprises.A bomb was strapped to his chest.“Oh my god,” she said, trying not to panic. He was still groggy, and she reached for his face, cupping it in her cheeks. “Doctor, I have to heal you, okay?”“Rose?” he asked, and winced as he tried to shift.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Forever With You [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030980
Comments: 6
Kudos: 129





	1. A Proper Massage

When he walked into the library, Rose was asleep with one of the books from his home sprawled across her chest. He smirked and leaned against the wall, realizing she had somehow managed to figure out that setting as well, and watched her for a moment. She was wearing some gray sweatpants and a blue hoodie, fuzzy socks, and her golden locks were wild and messy, half on her face and half on the throw pillow. 

He heard her mumble something, still very much asleep, and fought every urge to go and curl up next to her as he moved to his desk, pulling the blueprint out of the drawer. The book about Time Lord technology was right where he left it in the corner of the desk next to his table lamp, and he looked over at Rose again, wondering what book she had decided to indulge in while he had been working on some minor repairs in the console room following a short trip through an asteroid belt that, unsurprisingly, went a little haywire. 

She had laughed like crazy as they bounced around the TARDIS, though, and that made it all worth it. 

Her hand was covering the spine, but he felt his hearts skip a beat when he realized which one it was. A book about traditions. Between the cover rested everything from Gallifreyan holidays to the hierarchy of their class system, to… 

Oh, his impossible human. 

Marriage ceremonies. 

He moved to her and very carefully pulled the book up just to see what page she was on. He smiled and immediately placed it back on her chest, his suspicions confirmed, and he couldn’t help but place a gentle kiss on her temple. She didn’t stir and he let her rest, feeling an array of emotions knowing she was curious about it, while also knowing full well she’d never bring it up unless he did. 

He shook his head a little and moved back to the blueprint, settling in with his feet on his desk as he tried to see if he could understand who might possibly have left it and who was possibly in the chamber. 

They needed the other half of the page. 

He ended up pushing the blueprint to the side and began to look through the other pages of the book, coming across machines and other technologies he hadn’t seen in centuries. The basic gridwork for a TARDIS was on one page, and on another sat the model for a paradox monitor. He saw simple things too like the Gallifreyan sundial and the networking system used that was used in their communication devices. 

It all felt so familiar and yet so far away, and he got lost in memories. Rose eventually woke up and rolled onto her side, her hair sticking up in the back as she rubbed her eyes and flashed him the most wonderful sleepy smile he had ever seen her make. 

“Hello,” she mumbled. 

“Hello,” he smiled back, closing the book. She shifted a little, forgetting that one was also on her chest, and it slid off onto the floor with a thump. 

“Oh, sorry,” she said, and reached for it, delicately placing it on the end table behind her. “All fixed up?” 

“Yep, we’re as good as new,” he said. She smiled and sat up, stretching her arms above her head and rolling her neck. He watched her, and could sense she felt stiff through their many connections. It wasn’t the best couch in the world, and he moved to her wordlessly, sitting down next to her and began to rub circles into her shoulders. 

“Mmm thank you,” she murmured. He smiled and rubbed a little harder, and she groaned. It wasn’t meant to arouse him, he knew, but it did, and she found herself biting her lip when she sensed it. He moved from her shoulders to her sides, and kissed her neck lightly. 

“You know, Rose Tyler, I think you need a proper massage. Every muscle is hard as a rock,” he said quietly. 

“Do I now?” she asked. He just nodded and gently pulled her hoodie over her head. The TARDIS was kind enough to start a fire for them as he stood up and let her lay flat on the sofa, her bare back facing him, and he sat beside her. 

“I always like to start from the top and work my way down, personally,” he said, and brushed his hands along her skull until he reached the top of her neck. “Your sternocleidomastoid muscles tend to get quite...overworked.” 

He was rubbing with perfect precision, his touch just slightly cooler than usual as he massaged every inch of her neck. He saw the goosebumps arise and he fought the urge to lick her, knowing she’d make the sounds he was craving, but he kept his composure and moved down. “Then there’s the trapezius,” he said. She buried her face in the pillow to stop herself from moaning his name as he expertly took all the tension away, and somehow managed to do so with very little pain. “And deltoids,” he added, his voice like silk, moving his hands to her shoulders again and pushing down. She couldn’t help but moan and he couldn’t help but smile, and continued to massage her so skillfully she felt like she was simply becoming a puddle with each brush of his fingers or dig of his hand. 

She was breathing heavily when he moved to her vertebrae and began to use his tongue to circle around each one, slow and calculated. It wasn’t doing much in terms of massaging her, but it was doing wonders for other parts of her anatomy, and she began to squirm under him as his hands rested on her hips. He moved with a tantalizing amount of control down her spine and back up, teasing her as his warm breath hit her skin, and he could feel her growing impatient, which only fueled him more. 

“Obliques,” he whispered huskily, “those need special attention.” She whimpered as he ran his hand along her sides, applying just the right amount of pressure, and moved from the middle back up just slightly, then back down, and used his fingernails to graze her skin, sending a fresh wave of heat through her. 

“Doctor…” she moaned, and he felt his own breath grow shallow as he took in his effect on her. He could smell how much she wanted him, and it was causing him to forget the names of the other muscles he still needed to pay attention to, but he was determined to tease her for as long as he possibly could until she snapped and couldn’t take it anymore. 

He moved to her sacrum, still unable to think of the names and continued his massage, and moved his hands back up to her head. She gasped as his hands slid into her hair, and he pressed his body against hers, his lips next to her ear. “This group here, if touched properly, are pleasure sensors.” 

That was her undoing. She cried out as he finished his massage, and he began to kiss her neck, allowing his tongue to dart out and taste her. 

She cursed in Gallifreyan which sent shockwaves through his entire body, and he broke the buttons on his Oxford as he worked himself out of it. She was straddling him suddenly, pressing him against the back of the couch and gasping, opening their minds. “These muscles here?” she asked, copying his movements as she slid her hands into his hair now, and he panted her name. “Or was it these?” 

Her voice was cracking as she ran her hand over his trousers, and he clenched his hands into the fabric of the sofa. She kissed him, and masterfully tore them out of their clothes, both blinded by their senses as she was soon melting onto him. He was a little desperate, but she just smiled and shook her head. “My turn.” 

“Do your worst…” he groaned, and she began to show him just how much _she_ understood about anatomy as well. Slow, controlled, and perfect. 

She screamed against his kiss when they collided, and he was gripping her so tightly he left small marks behind, which he made up for with chaste kisses. She was breathless, her head leaning on his shoulder, and he couldn’t stop smiling. “That was fun,” he whispered. She just hummed, unable to speak, and he felt her heartbeat try to slow itself back down. 

“Pencil me in for weekly massages,” she eventually said, and he chuckled, pulling her onto his chest. 

“Done,” he said. 

Her stomach growled a few minutes later, and she just buried her face in her hands, stifling her laughter as the Doctor smirked. “It’s like a bottomless pit sometimes,” she whined, and he sat up, handing her hoodie back to her as he pulled his Oxford and trousers back on, keeping the broken buttons undone as he grabbed her hand and stood up. 

“Shower then dinner. Anything, whatever you want,” he said. She bit her lip and looked at him sheepishly. 

“Fish and chips?” she asked and he grinned knowingly at her. 

“Molto Bene,” he said with a wag of his eyebrows, and she just shook her head, flashing his favorite smile as she made her way to their ensuite. 

~~~~

An hour and a half later (they both had felt there was a bit more kissing to be done against the tile of the shower), they walked out of the TARDIS hand in hand, and Rose’s eyes widened. 

“Seuria! Best fish and chips in the entire galaxy,” he assured her as they bounded away from the ship. The sky was clear, not a single cloud, and bright blue with a single sun. The air smelled a little of fish, but it was surprisingly not unpleasant, and Rose cocked an eyebrow at him. 

“You been holding out on me?” she asked, and he smiled, strolling down the street toward a pub. They were instantly greeted by a hostess, and Rose smiled politely at her as she brought them to a table outside, overlooking the docks where the fishing boats were. 

He forgot to tell her the local residents look like human-sized hairless cats. 

“At least they’re not nuns,” she muttered, and he gave her a look. 

“Don’t judge a cat by its whiskers, Rose,” he said with a grin. She shot him her deductive face, and he shot his right back. Flirting, they had always been quite good at it. 

“They don’t have any,” she said. 

“Exactly,” he replied, and winked at her. 

Their food arrived twenty minutes later, and Rose rolled her eyes when she swallowed her first bite. “Oh, that’s gorgeous,” she said. 

“Yup,” he sang, dipping his fish in a special sauce they provided. 

“What’s in it?” she asked, chewing. He took a breath and swallowed. 

“There’s a mineral in the water that gives their fish extra nutrients you can’t find on Earth. Full of flavor, quite good for you, in fact,” he said. She smiled. 

“I meant the chips,” she said. He just looked at her. 

“I know,” he said, winking. She laughed and grabbed his hand, holding it as they ate and bantered, continuing to flirt. 

She had just wiped the last bit of food off her mouth with her napkin when she looked back at the Doctor, and noticed smoke rising into the clear blue sky from a building behind him a few miles away. Her brow furrowed and he looked over his shoulder, reaching into his pocket and leaving the bills on table for dinner. 

“Run?” he asked. 

“Just ate, gonna have to be more of a saunter,” she teased, and he rolled his eyes playfully as they stood and immediately headed toward the smoke, their minds connecting. 

It was coming from City Hall. 

The Doctor and Rose watched as hundreds of employees rushed out of the building, their hairless feline features clad in business attire, and the Doctor calculated in his head quickly. There were no visible flames, but there was just so much smoke it had to be a fairly large problem, and he and Rose tried to push against people as they ran away, slipping through the front doors. 

It was a rather exquisite building on the inside. The architecture felt Gothic in design, even though Rose knew Earth probably had no influence on their civilization at all. But it was all stone with stained glass windows and pointed arches, and for a moment she was reminded of the church with the Reaper. The Doctor squeezed her hand. 

“Come on baby, don’t fear the Reaper,” he said with a wide grin, so unbelievably proud of himself and his pop culture references. She felt her lips curl into a smile despite all her efforts not to give him any satisfaction, and she just rolled her eyes. 

“That was terrible,” she laughed, and he just made a happy sound and kissed her before they continued to move through the hall. 

They pulled out their sonic screwdrivers and scanned, tracking down where the smoke was coming from. They moved down to the lower level of the building where the tech department resided, and they stopped in their tracks when they saw two of the hairless cat people wearing all black, stuffing equipment into a duffle bag. The Doctor pulled Rose behind the door, and they watched. 

“Alright, that’s enough,” one said. “It’s already gotten out of hand. We can’t stay here.” 

“We’re alone, it’ll be fine,” the other said. “She wants us to save as much as we can.” 

“She wanted us to make it look like an accident. This looks very premeditated,” the other snapped. “If you had bloody well listened to me, we wouldn’t be in this situation!” 

“Oh please, it’s not that bad!” the other one cried. Rose nudged the Doctor, her Instincts telling her to interrupt. He stood in the archway. 

“Good haul?” the Doctor asked. One of them jumped, and hissed. Rose could practically see it’s back arch and she buried her face behind her hand. 

“Sorry,” she said when they noticed her trying not to laugh. 

“Who are you?” the other asked, and the Doctor just looked at them. 

“I’m the Doctor,” he said. 

“I’m Rose,” she said, and the cats looked at each other. Rose sensed their movements before they made them, and she pulled the Doctor with her as they tried to stop them from running out the door. The Doctor grabbed one by the arm and pulled it back toward the table their duffle bag was on. It hissed again, much more sinisterly than before, and he saw it whip out its claws, scratching the hand that was holding onto its arm.

“Ow!” the Doctor shouted, and Rose felt a scratch on her arm from the other cat. He glared at them when he saw it start to bleed. “That was a mistake.” He was about to follow them when he felt a sensation in his head and he instantly felt loopy. The room started to spin, and Rose collapsed beside him as well, a similar spell taking over her. The next thing he knew he was on the ground.


	2. Get Rid of a Bomb

She somehow awoke before he did, and noticed her arm was swollen. Three deep cuts were sliced across her forearm, and it was oozing something green. She grimaced, realizing it had definitely been poison of some kind on their claws. She felt her head throb as she sat up and she looked around the room, but the Doctor was nowhere to be found. She focused on the hum in her mind. 

He was awake, she could tell. 

_You okay?_

She heard him groan behind her, the connection clearly painful at the moment, and she realized he was tucked into the corner, hidden in the dark. She put up her blocks to shield him from more pain as she moved to him, placing her hand over her arm and healing her scratches. She ignored the burning sensation and agony she was feeling as it removed all trace of the poison as well, as she knelt down beside him, suddenly feeling alert. She was about to offer to do the same thing for him when she felt her blood run cold. 

A bomb was strapped to his chest. 

“Oh my god,” she said, trying not to panic. He was still groggy, and she reached for his face, cupping it in her cheeks. “Doctor, I have to heal you, okay?” 

“Rose?” he asked, and winced as he tried to shift. 

“No, no, no, no, no, don’t move, it’s okay. I’m here, I got you, yeah? Just stay exactly as you are. I’m going to heal you, just hold my hand and don’t move, you got that?” she said, speaking very firmly and very carefully, knowing his head was killing him at the moment. “Doctor, tell me you understand me. You can’t move.” 

“Okay,” he said, still wincing. She took a breath and placed her hand over his, and she watched the golden light seep into his skin as he cried out. 

“Don’t you dare move,” she said, her voice shrill. It knocked some sense into him and he just looked at her, clenching his jaw as the burning sensation took it course. It felt like the beginning of a regeneration, not quite a full fire, but still not...comfortable. It was painful. He could see why it would be so excruciating to humans, but he knew it could be much, much worse. It cooled down after a moment, and he felt his headache dissipate, his awareness of the room coming back to him. 

“Thank you,” he said, and looked at his chest for the first time. “Oh, for God’s sake…” 

He sounded exasperated, not afraid. Rose was very focused, staring at the straps and knobs on the box resting directly between his hearts. “Have you scanned it?” he asked. 

“No, I was a little busy clearing poison out of your bloodstream,” she said, and he smirked a little at her. 

“How much time is on it?” he asked. For the first time, she looked at the red numbers properly. 

“An hour,” she whispered. She pulled out her sonic screwdriver and scanned, trying to get a sense of how the bomb was made. She opened her mind so he could see it all, too, knowing he had to stay still, and she saw his jaw clench again. Her hazel galaxies swam in chocolate. “Doctor, what happens to you if this goes off?” 

He didn’t say anything, and she already knew the answer. His silence confirmed it. He would blow to bits. And she knew he wouldn’t regenerate if there was no body to heal. He sighed. “It’s a bit rubbish. That makes it...complicated. The sonic might detonate it if you try to deactivate it. Good thing we’re clever.” 

He winked at her, and she could tell he wasn’t nervous. He knew they were smarter than this, but he did find it all incredibly inconvenient and very stupid and more than anything, he remembered why he’s not a cat person. Rose looped her fingers around her earring as she tried to think alongside him, but they both knew they needed more information. She sighed. 

“I have to go investigate, don’t I?” she asked. He just looked at her. 

“I think so,” he said. “I’ll stay here.” 

His joke did the trick and she smiled at him despite the situation. He smiled back. “I’ll be back soon, and I’ll keep my mind open. I promise.” 

“Thank you,” he said. “Be careful.” 

“You too,” she whispered, and sent him a flurry of love as she stood up and scanned again, locking eyes with him as he laid on the ground. 

“Go. I’ll be fine,” he said. She mouthed a kiss and followed the sonic as it helped her track down the smoke they saw before, and she made sure the Doctor could hear her, not at all interested in fighting again. She left the room he was in and turned the corner. There was smoke bleeding into the hallway from a closed door and she paused, fully aware she couldn’t touch the handle. She could feel the fire from ten feet away, and through the window at the end of the hall she saw the smoke rising higher and higher into the air. She nibbled on her lip, her brow creased, and she let out a breath. She ran to the opposite side of the hall and wondered why the fire alarms weren’t going off. 

Maybe this planet didn’t use them. 

_They do. They’re probably sabotaged._

_Lovely._

It was clear this was a burglary or hit of some sort, and that the cats were supposed to sneak by under the radar, but something went wrong. Her instincts were brewing. The most important thing was stopping the bomb. 

She moved down the hall and into a room on the opposite side of the one that was smoking. She looked around, realizing it was another tech room, and sighed. Her Instincts were telling her to just keep walking, and she was about to slip out of the room when she noticed a metal closet in the corner with the door blown off. She moved to it, and saw the shelves completely empty. She knew it must have been full of some of the items they were stuffing into their bags, and she scanned, hoping there might be some sort of residue or something nearby to collect data with. It came back empty and she was starting to grow increasingly frustrated. 

_There’s nothing here. I have to go into the room with the fire,_ she thought. She didn’t feel him panic, which she was relieved by. 

_Use the sonic, push it open with the Vortex, and stay low._

She smiled. It’s exactly what she was thinking, too. She moved quickly and army-crawled under the smoke, holding her breath as much as she could, and saw the fire was coming from a grid at the back of the room. She looked up, her Instincts telling her there was a fire alarm above her head that was turned off, and she aimed the sonic at it, pressing and hoping. 

Water began to pour into the entire room, and she stayed right where she was, closing her eyes and trying to hold her breath more as the flames began to dissipate and the water broke its way through the smoke. 

_Well done, Rose Tyler!_

She smiled. 

_Focus on the bomb, yeah?_

_I can do both._

She waited a few more minutes, cringing at how much time she was wasting just lying there, but when the smoke was mostly cleared out she stood and moved to the grid, looking around the room. 

It was an office, and whatever machines had been wired to the grid were ash. She tried to scan them but it all just seemed to be the remains of standard computers, similar to what they might find on Earth, and she opened the door to the powerline. She could feel the Doctor think with her, and he groaned. 

_The large wire in the middle, does the end look like it was cut?_

_Yeah._

_It was that. Main line. They severed that and the whole thing went up._

__She placed the wire back down, and turned around. The room was covered in muddy soot, and she was truly amazed the walls hadn’t collapsed. Just before the Doctor could explain it to her, she realized it herself._ _

__They were made of stone, not wood that would burn or metal that would bend._ _

__Fire would do nothing to this gothic masterpiece. But a bomb...a bomb would turn it all to rubble in moments._ _

__Her Instincts were working their magic, and she suddenly seemed to understand the fire was never supposed to happen. The bomb was the real threat._ _

_Of course. That’s what the cats meant when they said things that had gone too far,_ the Doctor said. Realization came crashing down on Rose and she felt a sense of dread fill her soul. 

_They said she...whoever that is... wanted them to make it look like an accident. They meant an explosion. A collapse of the building. Doctor, people were supposed to be inside, but they saw the smoke and ran out. This was… Oh my God…_

____She ran back to him, and he was staring up at the ceiling, his face hardened.__

____“Find them,” he said when he sensed her. She felt her heart rate increase and she knelt down, looking at the clock. Somehow they already wasted thirty minutes._ _ _ _

____“I don’t think they’re doing anything besides stealing things at this point,” she said. “They think they’ve won. They think they poisoned us and the bomb is going to go off.”_ _ _ _

____“Rose, they planned a bloody execution. And not just them. There’s a ‘she’ they’re reporting to. Find them,” he said, his storm brewing. She sighed._ _ _ _

____“ _We’ll_ find them. After we get this bomb off of you,” she said. “That’s not up for discussion.” He was silent. “Doctor, it’s just me and you in here. Everyone who was supposed to be inside ran out. They’re safe. We can handle a couple of cats.” _ _ _ _

____He just stared at the ceiling, and his jaw clenched. “A failsafe,” he said._ _ _ _

____“What?” she asked._ _ _ _

____“Most explosive devices have a failsafe. A code you can punch in and it stops it before it detonates. I thought about that straight away, but this is so terribly made I’m not sure…” he trailed off, and Rose just looked at the bomb._ _ _ _

____“What kind of code?” she asked. He just shook his head._ _ _ _

____“Could be anything. I’ve been sitting here for half an hour trying to figure out how to possibly solve it. It’s truly a horrific design. We’ll only get one chance,” he said._ _ _ _

____“Fine,” Rose said. “I’ll go find them.”_ _ _ _

____“Thank you,” he said, grinning a little at her, winning for once. She just rolled her eyes._ _ _ _

____“You could have just told me that in the first place, you know,” she said. A moment passed, and their eyes danced with each other, unspoken words lingering in the air._ _ _ _

____“I’ll see you soon, Rose,” he said._ _ _ _

____“Not if I see you, first,” she said, and sent him a memory of kissing him. “Just so you know what I want to do right now.”_ _ _ _

____“Quite right,” he said, and sent her a memory of his own as he watched her run out the doorway._ _ _ _


	3. Day in the Life

She moved back up to the lobby, where a rainbow light from the stained glass windows was spilling onto the floor. It was breathtaking, and she tucked behind a pillar, removing some bangles she had worn for dinner and shoving them into her pocket so she made less noise. Her sonic screwdriver was at her side, and she had every sense she could possibly use peeled for signs of the two cats. Practically on cue, she heard a clatter from up above her, and she moved carefully forward, darting up the stone stairs to the second level of the main room. 

They were in an office, and Rose could tell by the nametag on the wall it belonged to the mayor. She groaned and bit her lip when she saw the name, finding it all absolutely ridiculous: Purina Kitts. 

She watched, deducting, and quickly noticed they were gathering family portraits and personal items but leaving all the expensive vases and books behind, and her Instincts kicked in. 

_I think the mayor is behind this._

_Of course she is. It’s always about power._

_Or money…_

_Oh, yes, very true, it’s always about money,_ he added, and she continued to watch. One of the cats spotted her from over the desk, and he hissed. 

They started to run again. Rose smirked. Cats were fast, but wolves were faster. 

She tackled them to the ground this time and before they could claw at her, she immediately grabbed a picture frame with a family of hairless cats in it, holding it above her head, sensing they needed to keep the mayor’s things safe. 

“NO! Don’t please!’ one of the cats shouted, and Rose looked at them, a fire lining her eyes. 

“My husband currently has a bomb strapped to his chest. You’re going to tell me how to turn it off, and what the mayor is doing with you, you got that?” she said icily. The cats looked at each other. 

“How.. how do you -” one of them began and Rose just glared. 

“Because we’re clever,” she snapped. “You have one minute, or I break this.”

“Oh, please,” the other cat said. Rose slammed the picture on the ground and shot a beam of light at the bookshelf, scattering pages all around. They both shut up and she stared. 

“Let’s try this again,” she said. “Fifty seconds.” 

“The election...Her poll numbers are weak. She wanted to stage a bombing and get coverage of her saving her own employees. She made us promise to save as much from inside as we could before we blew the whole thing up,” one of the cats said. Rose and the Doctor both felt an immense amount of irritation bubble inside of them, and Rose just looked at them. 

“And the fire?” she asked. 

“He’s an idiot,” the same cat muttered. “Thought a fire would add to the drama. Went rogue, mucked it all up. People saw and smelled the smoke and ran. We deactivated the fire alarms, but it didn’t matter. The whole building was cleared out. You bloody moron.” 

He tried to hit the other cat, and Rose felt like she was babysitting a couple of teenagers. 

“Oi, knock it off,” she yelled. “You hear how stupid everything you just said is, right? Risking lives, innocent lives, for a stunt? Are you pleased with yourselves?” 

They didn’t say anything, and Rose kneeled down in front of them. “How do I stop the bomb?” 

“We can’t tell you that, she’ll destroy us,” one of the cats said. Rose took a deep breath. 

“Who are you? Why’d she choose you?” she asked. They just shrugged. She stared at them, and grabbed another personal item, a teacup, and dangled it over the floor. “Fifteen seconds. How do I turn off the bomb?” 

“Please,” the other cat said. “Please, don’t.” 

She dropped the teacup and grabbed another picture, throwing it on the ground, followed by a pot of flowers. When she reached for the teapot that matched the cup, the cats broke. 

“The code is 998cv67f,” he said. 

“Anything else?” she asked, holding the teapot up a little higher. He shook his head, and she put the teapot down. 

She moved wordlessly, and before the cats could even try, she slammed the door shut and soniced it closed, locking them inside. She ran like lightning back down to the Doctor, and slid to his side. 

Ten minutes.

“What do I do?” she asked. 

“Just type it in and press the red button,” he said. “Rose, look at me.” She did, and he smiled at her. “You’re brilliant, you know that?” 

“Learned from the best,” she said, smiling back. With a breath, she punched in the code she was told, and her finger hovered over the red button. Everything in her told her to touch it, but she found herself frozen. He gave her a look of pride. 

“You know what I say, Rose Tyler. When you see a big, threatening button that should never, ever, ever be pressed…” he said, and she felt his hand reach over and hold hers. 

They pushed together. 

The bomb snapped open and the lights turned green. It collapsed at the Doctor’s side, and they both let out a sigh of relief, their arms immediately wrapping around each other. She kissed him, and he let out a sound at the feel of being able to hold her again, and the air was infinitely lighter. 

“What would I do without you?” he said, capturing her lips in another long kiss. She smiled and darted her tongue out for a moment before she pulled back, and pulled out her sonic screwdriver. 

She pressed it. 

The entire conversation she had with the cats, starting with her telling them about the bomb, all the way through when she locked the door, played back to him. He smiled widely, his eyes locking with hers. 

“Not sure if this sort of thing would be handled like they are on Earth, but...I figured we could leak it to the media. Stop this mayor from ever considering a career in politics again,” she said, a gleam in her eye. The Doctor just shook his head, utterly entranced by her. 

“Get over here,” he said, and kissed her fiercely. Again, and again, and again, smiling. “That is…fantastic. Absolutely bloody fantastic, Rose.” 

She smiled and stood up, holding her hand out to him. “Allons-y?” 

“Wherever you’re going, I’m going,” he said with a wink. 

Her hand slipped into his, and together they moved back to the cats, opening the door. The Doctor shut the door calmly behind him, and Rose stayed back against the wall, letting the Doctor take a turn at finding out what he could from the hairless creatures. 

“Hello,” he said, waving. The cats just looked at each other and he looked around the room, not letting his storm show, slowly taking in every crevice of the bookshelf, every stub on the wall where pictures once sat, and all the broken glass resting at the cat’s feet. “Normally, I’d be very, very angry. But...well...I’m aware you’re both rather stupid, and I’m trying not to hold that against you.”

The cats hissed, and he smirked. 

“You attacked _us_ ,” one of the cats said, and the Doctor burst out laughing. 

“Ohhhh no, no, we’re doing that,” he said. “Not after what you told my wife. What are your names?” Neither cat said anything, and the Doctor sighed. “Fine. You’re Thing 1 and you’re Thing 2. That works. So, Thing 1… I get the whole…’stage-a-problem-and-play-the-hero’ act your mayor seems to think was a good idea. BUT, the thing I don’t get...well...is why you agreed.” 

Rose leaned her head against the wall, and watched, and the Doctor sniffed, staring at them. “She must have something on you, otherwise _why_ agree to risk so many lives for a stunt when you don’t get any of the glory?” He paused, leaning against the desk, his wheels turning. “Ohhhhh no, wait. Promotion? Money? Was it that?” 

“You said she’ll destroy you,” Rose added, moving to stand by the Doctor. “What does that mean?” 

The meeker of the two cats, the one who caused the fire, sighed. “You don’t know her. She’s... manipulative. She’s latched her claws into every part of this city’s government. There’s not a single person who doesn’t owe her a favor or money or whatever. She holds our careers in her hands. Our livelihoods. We can’t leave or go against her, she would make sure no one would ever hire us anywhere in all of Seuria.” 

“Evil dictator,” Rose hummed. “Those are easy to take down. You just have to try.” 

“We’re sorry. No one was meant to get hurt, we swear. The building was going to collapse, but just a little. We were supposed to make it look like an electrical mistake. People might be trapped, maybe a couple broken bones but no one was meant...we would never have agreed to that,” the cat insisted. 

“You hear that, Rose? Just a little, just a couple broken bones, that makes it alright, doesn’t it?” the Doctor said unenthused, staring at the cats. She sighed. 

“Cute story. Except you put a bomb on his chest, so I’m having a hard time believing any of you would have taken safety very seriously,” she said. The cats hissed, and she glared. “You’ve lost. You get that, right? Now is your chance to do the right thing. Where is she?” 

The cats looked at each other. “She’s supposed to arrive just before the bomb was set to go off. I’m not sure what her plan is now, she must know things went wrong and everyone left.” 

“We had ten minutes when we stopped it, she might already be here,’” the Doctor said. “Right, then. You two stay here. I’m sure someone will let you out soon. Probably in handcuffs.” 

He moved to the door, Rose right behind him, and they locked them back inside. They looked at each other the moment the door was closed, and Rose pressed her forehead into his shoulder. “Just once...I wish people would do the unselfish thing.” 

“Oh, Rose…” he said, pulling her into a hug. “We’d be out of a job if they did.” 

It was supposed to be a joke, but she just sighed and pulled away, sliding her hand into his as they moved toward the front of the building. They had done quite a bit of interrogating over the years, and it was never something she enjoyed. But the people were safe, the building was safe, and they had evidence to let the planet deal with the rest, so they walked out and squinted against the bright light of the sun. 

It was a sight that reminded her a little of Earth. News reporters were gathered. Large vehicles that resembled cars but looked more like circles were lined along the street, and some people, probably firefighters, were pulling back hoses and filling out paperwork. Rose could hear many of them say that the smoke mysteriously stopped, and no one seems to be able to tell why. There were helicopters flying above that looked like disks, and hundreds of hairless cats were standing behind some rope. There were officers of some kind on the scene, making a plan to investigate. The Doctor started to walk toward them, but Rose pulled on his hand. She spotted Purina giving an interview for a local news station, recognizing her from the pictures she shattered. 

She marched up to her, her hairless skin shining in the light and her purple blazer a stand out among the crowd. The Doctor hung back, watching Rose with pride as she pulled the microphone out of the reporter’s hands and looked at Purina. 

“You’re the mayor, right?” she asked, Purina furrowed her brow. 

“Who are you? I was in the middle -” she began, and Rose just smiled. 

“Oh, I know,” she said, and turned to face the cameras. “My name is Rose Tyler. My husband and I were held hostage by two employees of Ms. Kitts, and my husband had a bomb strapped to his chest, placed there by the employees. Security cameras will show it all, including the employees raiding and stealing. I was able to get a full confession out of the employees as to what exactly that smoke as you all saw, and what your mayor here has been up to. Here.” 

She played the message, her eyes locking with Purina’s as the reporter’s mouths dropped open. They clamored for more information, shouting a thousand questions at Rose as she turned away, leaning into Purina and resting her mouth by her ear. 

“Best of luck with your election,” she whispered, and Purina watched in horror as the reporters shifted their attention to her. Rose and the Doctor locked hands and smiled at each other, moving back toward the TARDIS. 

All they can do is react to what they see. 

They pushed the doors open and Rose sat in her seat as the Doctor sent them to the Vortex. The familiar shift of time danced beneath their feet and Rose smiled as he pulled her into a hug. 

“A day in the life of a Time Lord,” the Doctor said, kissing the top of her head. She just sighed. 

“Never a dull moment,” she hummed, smiling at him. “At least the fish and chips were good.” 

“Oh yes,” he said, winking at her. She kissed him, and moved to the console, her hand trailing along the controls. 

“You know…” she said, “My birthday is coming up.”

“I know,” he said slowly, his hearts starting to flutter. He had an entire plan for that day, and she was making him nervous. 

“Do you think...maybe you could teach me?” she whispered, her eyes locking with his. He stared at her, a lump forming in his throat. 

“You mean…” he said, trailing off. She nodded, looking at the coral and running her hand along the light. The TARDIS hummed in happiness at her touch, a sensation both of them felt, and the Doctor forgot how to breathe. 

“I want to be able to fly her properly,” she whispered. “Maybe take you places every once in a while.” He bit his cheek, watching every move she made as she circled the whole console, stopping when she was inches away from his legs. “What do you think?” 

He couldn’t speak, but he sniffed and looked at the main lever. “There’s a test, usually.” 

“Mhm,” Rose mused, brushing her leg against his. “Pretty sure you failed.” 

He just looked at her, the urge to kiss her intoxicating, but he was enjoying the flirting and he scoffed. “I passed... eventually.” 

She smiled at him, and looked back down at the buttons. “So…” 

“So...there’s a lot that goes into it,” he began. “Each button controls a different manipulator, pulsation, or jumper. Among other things. Each pulsation triggers a different piece of time. There’s millions of them working beneath our feet as we speak. Each lever acts as a booster, some work together, some don’t. There’s endless combinations of buttons and coordinates to memorize, and the order makes all the difference. Sometimes you have to use the mallet, sometimes you need a card…” 

“And?” she asked, still smiling at him. He pulled her onto his lap. 

“And…” he started, “I suppose...If there is anyone who I thought could learn it all, it’s you.” Her smile grew wider and he just shook his head at her, kissing her. When he pulled away, he felt butterflies in his stomach and he moved to the main part of the console, taking her hand and pulling her with him. “Did you want to start now?” 

“Can we?” she asked, and he just stared at her again. 

She wasn’t Time Lady, but she sure as hell acted like it. 

“Sure,” he whispered. “Stand here.” She did as she was told, directly in front of the console. “You can dematerialize to the Vortex already, which is...well…impressive.” She smiled, and he stood behind her, his hearts thudding against his ribs as he placed his hands over hers and led her around the controls. “Coordinates. Those are the most important parts. You need to learn the coordinates and then learn how to type them in.” 

“What are the coordinates for Earth?” she whispered. His face was inches from hers, and he whispered them in her ear. She shuddered. 

“When you move to the Vortex, you press these, yeah?” he said. She nodded. “Right. Well, when you type coordinates in, use these buttons instead.” He led her hand to a new set of buttons, and she stared at them. The writing was in Gallifreyan, and she smiled when she realized she understood what numbers and letters were written on them. “So, you want to press-” 

“This one first?” she asked, turning her head to look at him as her finger pointed to the proper choice. The Doctor just smiled at her, and she pressed the coordinates in perfectly. “Now what?” 

He was amazed, but not surprised, and he cleared his throat to refocus. “You picked the planet. But now you have to choose the location, the year, the time of day. For that, you want these here.” He brought her hand over to another set of controls, this time some knobs. “This line here is the location, but you also need coordinates for those.” 

“If I wanted to take you to, I dunno...London,” she said. “Do I just need to know the latitude and longitude?” 

“Sort of. You also need to know the exact coordinates of exactly where you want to land. Like I said, a lot to learn,” he said softly. “Where are you thinking?” 

“I want to go watch some Shakespeare,” she said. “Throw tomatoes or whatever they did back then.” 

“Ah, you want the pit seats,” he said with a grin. “You sure? I could easily get us box seats, too.” 

“Nah, I want to get my hands a little dirty,” she said, not meaning for it to be suggestive, but it totally was. The Doctor just looked at her, biting his cheek, and his eyes danced with hers. 

“It’s an urban legend, you know,” he murmured. “Tomatoes weren’t readily available back then, but we could probably get our hands on some other fruit.” 

“You created the banana daiquiri a few centuries early, what if we introduced tomatoes early, too?” she said, her eyes lingering on his lips. He swallowed, his eyes looking at hers too. 

“Rewrite history? Not my usual style,” he said. She bit her lip. 

“Yes it is,” she said, and he leaned in, unable not to kiss her when she was looking at him like that, pulling away and cupping his hand to her cheek. 

“Quite right,” he whispered. He whispered the coordinates for 1599, Elizabethan England, and watched as she punched them into the ship. He helped her choose a landing location and time of day, and she placed her hand on the lever. He kissed her neck, whispering in her ear once more. 

“You don’t need me for this part,” he began. “A proper pilot of a TARDIS uses their connection of time to activate the pulsations. That’s why humans can’t fly her, they don’t have a strong enough connection. But the Vortex lives inside your big, beautiful mind, so just trust yourself.” 

“I love you,” she whispered. 

“I love you, too.” 

She pulled the lever, and they started their next journey, where Carrionites await. 

They’ll return to the TARDIS a few hours later, laughing and wheezing. Rose will snog the Doctor senselessly for telling Lilith her name keeps him fighting, and he’ll assure her they’ll eventually watch a proper play. One that doesn’t result in seances and rifts or makeshift witches. She’ll smile, and tell him she thought it was cute how jealous he got when Shakespeare wrote her a sonnet, and he’ll challenge himself to write his own. 

And they’ll go to sleep that night so very in love, and so very happy, their timeline unfolding without them even realizing it. 

The storm was coming.


End file.
